


Mission Improbable

by witchymarvelspacecase



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 12:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17642951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchymarvelspacecase/pseuds/witchymarvelspacecase
Summary: The team is tired of Bucky’s mopey energy, so they hatch a plan, but you know better. Let the shenanigans commence.





	Mission Improbable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GigiStorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GigiStorm/gifts).



> This is a total random piece inspired by a conversation with @gigistrom. It’s a major disaster, but I kinda love it. Hope you all do too!

Avengers tower was a high energy place. The lower levels, which housed both Stark Enterprises HQ and the Avengers PR and logistics teams, were a hive of activity at almost any hour, The upper floors, which housed the Avengers themselves, had less people, but no less busy.

Normally, it was a content, almost happy sort of buzzing energy that floated around the Avengers quarters. Before missions, the energy was more tense. After the energy could be either melancholic or euphoric. But the usual feeling was a pleasant one. At least, most of the time.

When Bucky arrived, the mood shifted. Suddenly, he was in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by people who did  _ not _ get a good first impression of him. Bucky seemed to want to isolate, to keep to himself to that he couldn’t upset anyone. The shift in the building’s energy was uncomfortable for you, especially with you powers, but you understood his reasoning. Actually, those same powers that made you so sensitive, were what helped you to understand him better.

You could read people’s energy, judging by the feel of their energy, you could gage their mood, feelings, and sometimes their thoughts. You could manipulate a person’s energy to a degree as well. No, you couldn’t completely drain a person, and kill them, but you could pull enough of their energy away, that you knocked them unconscious. On the flip side, you could boost a person’s energy, which could help boost a person’s mood. So, when you noticed Bucky sticking to the outskirts of the team, you thought you’d offer to help.

Once you explained hat you would NEVER alter his energy without his permission, Bucky actually seemed willing to talk to you. Those first conversations were awkward and stilted, but soon, the two of you were talking like old friends. Especially after the rest of the team devised their “plan”

…

“Okay look, Manchurian Candidate is a serious buzz kill. We gotta get the guy to lighten up,” Tony announced once the briefing room doors closed behind the last person.

He’d called a team meeting t discuss what he called an important mission, but when you walked in, all you saw was a PowerPoint titled: “Mission Improbable: Get Bucky to Smile”. 

“Tone, I’m not sure this is the best way to go about this,” Rhodes sighed, after Tony laid out his plan.

“Well we need to do something, okay? His perpetual grey cloud is putting a real damper on things.”

“He just doesn’t feel like he belongs here, Tony. He’s not angry or anything, he just need time,” Steve tried to explain. But for some reason, even though he seemed to understand, he ended up agreeing with Tony’s plan, and so did everyone else. 

The conclusion that the team finally reached was that a little friendly hazing would fix Bucky’s problem. You ended up spending the entire meeting with your head in your hands, willing yourself not to smack the ever loving shit out of your friends. You wished Natasha was there, knowing she would have helped you, but the whole reason Tony had planned the meeting, was that Bucky and Nat were out on a recon mission. They were due to arrive home later that night.

As you sat, contemplating the stupid plan, you thought about what you could do. From what you’d seen of Bucky’s energy and the increasing number of talks the two of you had, you were sure that the “harmless” pranks the team were planning would only make Bucky’s feelings of isolation worse. Unable to get your teammates to comprehend, you instead made a plan of your own.

The team’s goal was to get Bucky to smile. Yours was to block all their stupid pranks, and maybe play a few of your own in return, hopefully, with Bucky’s help.

…

The moment Bucky and Natasha arrived back at the tower, you all but jumped Bucky, and dragged him back to your room. You’d talked in there before, but you could see Bucky’s confusion. You knew that he would rather be in his room, but you also knew that Clint’s prank was waiting for him there. 

Each of the team members had chosen their own prank, to be played one at a time, throughout the week. Once you’d gotten the thoroughly confused Bucky Barnes to your room, you explained what was going on.

“Honestly, I think they were  _ trying _ to help, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea, so- I thought I’d tell you.” Once you said it out loud, you realized you’d sounded pretty stupid, but you truly wanted Bucky to know.

Bucky, who was sitting on the edge of your bed, sighed and slumped, resting his elbows on his knees. “Steve okayed this?”

“Yeah. His reasoning was that there had been a ton of shenanigans in the commandos, and you were all tight in the 40’s, so  _ maybe _ Tony was on the right track. Steve’s prank is set for Tuesday.”

Bucky grumbled and scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. Noticing his energy dipping into what looked like “tired and frustrated”, you decided to mention  _ your  _ plan.

“I never agreed to be a part of their shit, but,” you paused, “I know all of their plans. That grabbed Bucky’s attention. When his eyes met yours, you smiled, “wanna help me mess with them instead?”

It took Bucky a moment, but a wicked grin slowl spread across his face, and his energy kicked back up.

“Hell yeah.”

…

Later that night, after you’d showed Bucky where Clint had hidden all the pop-its, the two of you carefully moved them into Clint’s room. Clint was a hell of a spy when he was awake, but he slept like the dead and relied heavily on coffee to wake up usually. It was easy to sneak in and hide the tiny noisemakers all over his room. The hardest part was holding in your giggles.

**Monday Morning**

“Good morning everyone,” you called as you entered the common room. Everyone except Wanda, Clint and Bucky was already there. Clint was always the last to arrive. Bucky was planning to make an entrance, but where was Wanda?

“Morning,” Bucky grumbled as he shuffled in, heading for the kitchen. 

Every face but yours was a study in confusion.

“What the hell?” Sam muttered under his breath.

“Wasn’t Wanda gonna swap all his clothes for dresses? Where’d he get those?” Rhodes muttered back.

You caught Bucky’s eye and gave him a wink, that was immediately followed by a high pitched shriek.

“Was that Wanda?” Steve asked from the kitchen as Vision disappeared. You assumed that he had reappeared in Wanda’s room as a second shriek came a second after he left.

Then Clint ame staggering into the kitchen. His eyes were darting round the room, and he nearly jumped out of his socks when Steve set a plate down a little to loudly.

You were biting your tongue to keep from laughing, and though Bucky looked as stoic as ever, his energy was high, and if you had to guess, he was trying not to laugh too.

Vision appeared, suitably chastened, and said, “Wanda may not be leaving her room for a while. It appears that while she was showering, all her clothing and towels vanished.”

**Tuesday**

“You sure Buck? Yo always have orange juice in the morning.” Steve pressured Bucky after their run. But Bucky knew better. That was  _ not _ orange juice in the pitcher in the fridge. It was boxed Mac and cheese powder mixed with water. Steve had been hoping for an epic spit-take, but it wasn’t gonna happen.

What HAD happened, unbeknownst to Steve, was an alteration to the back of his wardrobe.

Painted on the back were the words: “Star  _ SPANK- _ led man with a  _ plan” _ with a winking face and Steve’s phone number below.

Steve didn’t take his phone running, and you could hear it buzzing from across the room. It almost buzzed itself off the table.

“What on earth?” Steve looked so adorably confused.

“What’s the matter, Steve?” you asked innocently.

“I’ve got like 50 missed calls. I don’t even know any of these numbers.”

“Turn on channel 4,” Tony shouted as he slid into the common room. FRIDAY did as he asked and the large flat screen in the common room was soon filled with photos of Steve and Bucky running, and then pictures of Steve’s back.

You were pretty sure you’d never seen Steve’s face that shade of red before.

**Wednesday**

Thor’s prank of choice was to sabotage Bucky’s hidden Oreo stash. Thor had painstakingly replaced all the cookie filling with toothpaste. Obviously, Bucky was not going to be consuming any of those tainted cookies, but it did give him an idea.

Thus, the entire tower was awoken by Thor’s panicked shouts when his mouth was suddenly filled with bubbles that began to come out his nose. Shaving cream in a person’s toothpaste does that. 

You and Bucky were the only ones not to rush to Thor’s aid, choosing instead to saunter into the hall, smirking and sharing a subtle high-five.

**Thursday**

You’d thought  _ someone  _ would have caught on by then. You lived with expert spies and ex-assassins for heaven’s sake. But no. If anyone caught on, they didn’t say anything, and no one changed their plans. Vision still tried to give Bucky a frozen bowl of cereal for breakfast.

Vision’s reaction to the prank pulled on him was lackluster, but the rest of the team made up for it. You’d had FRIDAY tell Vision, that due to a  _ very specific _ mission requirement, the entire team needed to come to the briefing in tiaras and tutus. The team erupted into laughter when he came floating in the door.

“I take it by this response that I have been- what’s the phrase? Punked?” Vision monotoned as many,  _ many _ photos were taken.

Unfortunately, due to the mission, you and Bucky were not able to prevent Tony’s prank.

Upon returning home, there was a GIANT ice sculpture in Bucky’s bed. And it had been there a while apparently, because it was already melting.

“I know we already replaced his ground coffee beans with dirt, but I’m still pissed. I just wanna go to bed,” Bucky whined, tossing his bag on the floor.

“You can come stay in my room, Buck.” You hadn’t really processed all of the possible consequences before offering; you were exhausted too. But after a bit of awkward, embarrassed explaining, the two of you decided that as you were adults, you could certainly share a bed for one night. And charge a new, very expensive mattress to Tony’s card in the morning. 

Once you had both showered and changed, you had to cajole Bucky into  _ actually _ making himself comfortable enough to sleep. He was adamant about staying on top of the covers and firmly on  _ his _ side of the bed. You eventually got him to climb under the blankets. “There’s no point in being in here if you’re not gonna sleep, Bucky.”

After a bit, you could feel Bucky moving slightly, adjusting himself and his pillow, and you smiled. As you were drifting off, you heard Bucky say, “good night, Doll. Thank you.”

**Friday**

Sam’s prank was easily avoided since Bucky wasn’t in his room,and inadvertently slept later than usual. 

Sam had strapped air horns to the backs of the doors to Bucky's room and the gym. Sam, in turn, was treated to a VERY loud alarm blaring John Philip Sousa at 3am. Neither you nor Bucky were awake to witness his reaction, but you were sure FRIDAY had a recording.

You woke, immensely comfortable. You’d never felt so cozy in your bed before and you didn’t want to get out of it, burrowing in further without a thought.

That thought came through just a few seconds later though, when you realized that what you’d assumed were blankets, were in fact Bucky’s arms. He’d wrapped his arms around you, and you had nestled into his chest, bunching his shirt in your hands.

When you looked up, Bucky was semi-awake. His eyes were blinking open, but he didn’t seem to really be aware of anything. You shifted a bit, to try and pull away from him in case waking up like this made him uncomfortable, but his arms tightened and immediately dreamt you back in. He nuzzled his nose into your hair, and mumbled something incoherent before his breathing dropped back into a sleeping pattern. 

Sighing, with a smile on your lips, you resigned yourself to your fate and settled back in against Bucky’s chest.

When you woke the second time, Bucky was gone, but one of your favorite pastries was waiting for you on your nightstand. 

**Saturday**

Together, you and Bucky found all of Bruce’s hidden alarm clocks before they went off Saturday morning. Then, after you changed the times on the alarms, you snuck them into Bruce’s lab. Your hiding places weren’t as good, but the effect was the same. Fortunately, Bruce hadn’t been handling anything caustic, cause he dropped the empty beaker he’d been holding when the first alarm began ringing.

Rhodes planed to wrap plastic wrap over Bucky’s door while he was sleeping, which Bucky decided to allow. He asked to stay with you again, to which you readily agreed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure the last time I slept that well,” Bucky said, looking uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand.

“Me either,” you admitted, blushing as you helped Bucky wrap Rhodey’s Iron Patriot suit in the same plastic wrap. You used over five rolls, and by the time you were done, the blush had almost faded from your cheeks, but a bit of a matching pink still colored the tips of Bucky’s ears.

**Sunday**

Most of the team had realized that something was up by the last day, but apparently no one talked to Peter.

The entire team was in the hallway outside Bucky’s room, just in tie for Bucky to interrupt Peter setting up his prank.

Peter, who was busy webbing all of Bucky’s furniture and belongings to the ceiling didn’t even notice the crowd until Bucky spoke up.

“Ah, a spider,” Bucky called in a monotone voice, his ace completely devoid of emotion.

Peter didn’t seem overly concerned until Bucky picked up the broom he’d stashed out in the hall. 

“No! Wait, Mr. Barnes I-“ he started, but it was too late.

“I got it,” Bucky shouted and began swinging the broom over his head, successfully knocking some of his belongings from the ceiling nd whacking Peter in the face with the broom bristles multiple times before the kid finally dropped.

“Ow,” Peter moaned as he landed flat on his back on Bucky’s floor. 

Bucky turned then, meeting each team member’s gaze. “Ya done fuckin’ with me now?”

“Oh well done, Barnes,” Thor laughed. 

Sam and Tony were both sulking, but it was Steve who spoke next.

“So you knew all along, huh? All of this?”

“Yeah, Punk. I knew.”

“How?” Wanda asked quietly, looking around the group. When her eyes met yours, they narrowed in suspiscion. “You didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” You asked, a smirk slowly spreading across your face.

One by one, your teammates realized the mistake they had made, allowing an confederate into their midst. They turned on you then, but Natasha managed to step in front of you. As she had been exempt from the pranks, she had been more or less aware of the whole situation. And since she appreciated not being subjected to any juvenile hazing, she managed to get you through the group and over to Bucky before your angry teammates could lay a finger on you.

Bucky played bodyguard for all of a minute before everyone calmed down. Sure they were still pissed you’d messed with their plans, but once you’d had a chance to talk (while being hidden behind Bucky), they admitted their lan wasn’t the best.

“You’re still helping me unwrap my suit,” Rhodes griped, as the group backed off.

You stepped around Bucky then, stopping next to him. “Okay Rhodey, I will help you de-plastic your suit,” you giggled. But before you moved, you looked up at Bucky. His energy was reading higher than usual, but he didn’t seem amped up, or worried, no he seemed… happy. You smiled, and without thinking, tiptoed to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for protecting me, Bucky.”

You walked away without noticing the scene you’d caused. All of the team was staring. Several reached for cell phones to take pictures. Tony was in shock, and Steve was nearly in tears.

You see, Bucky was smiling.

 


End file.
